This Asian plus size model is smashing stereotypes

​Natalie Nootenboom is the niece of famous DJ Steve Aoki - but she's finding a following very much based on her own terms.

The 16-year-old is an up-and-coming model, and has been inspired by her uncle's career.

She told Revelist:

I’ve always looked up to my uncle because he broke Asian norms with his music.

Me, as an Asian curve model, I feel like I can use my platform as well to do that.

She told Billboard that she's defying Asian beauty standards:

I think it makes me different. The Asian norm is to be small and super skinny—that’s a stereotype.

I love the fact that I could be a spokesperson for the Asian plus division and really try to reshape how we view beauty.

Nootenboom has just signed with the inclusive agency Muse. Telling HuffPost that she wants to help promote diversity in the fashion industry:

You can’t talk about diversity without addressing different kinds

Diversity is going beyond ethnicity and size. The more I am able to showcase that in the industry, I will.

More: Plus-size models are officially good for our mental health